Officials Make Move on Trump Security Following Dire Warning by Secret Service Chief

The House of Representatives passed a bill on Dec. 5 to temporarily raise the salary and overtime cap for Secret Service agents.

This bill was passed in response to Secret Service Director Randolph “Tex” Alles’ August interview with USA Today in which he called out the fact that more than 1,000 agents had already hit the federally mandated cap for salary and overtime allowances.

The size of President Donald Trump’s family and the need to secure their multiple residencies could be one of the reasons that the Secret Service is stretching their resources.

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“The president has a large family, and our responsibility is required in law,” Alles told USA Today. “I can’t change that. I have no flexibility.”

Agents assigned to the president traveled with him nearly every weekend to his various properties during the first seven months of his administration, the New York Post reported.

Trump’s family is also accompanied by agents when they take business trips and vacations across the country and oversees.

“In 2017, the agency estimates that 1,200 employees will exceed the statutory pay cap, losing approximately $10 million in overtime pay unless Congress steps in to help,” Rep. John Katko, author of the bipartisan legislation, said before the House vote on Dec. 5.

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The Secret Service Recruitment and Retention Act of 2017 has increased maximum salary plus overtime from $161,900 to $187,000.

This bill also can help the Secret Service work through recruitment challenges that have arisen due to the lower pay caps.

Katko told the New York Post that the agency has struggled with employee morale in recent years, in part because of the pay caps that “prevent adequate compensation for their work.”

As part of the efforts to increase morale, the bill would also require the Secret Service to submit a report to Congress every year on recruitment and retention efforts.

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“The men and women of the Secret Service deserve to be paid for the hours they work, period,” Katko said in a media release. “They put their lives on the line every day and make tremendous personal sacrifices for our country. We cannot expect the Secret Service to recruit and retain the best of the best if they are not being compensated for the additional work that is demanded of them.”

Overtime pay for 1,400 Secret Service employees last year was funded by similar legislation, according to Katko’s news release on Sept. 11.

With the passing of this bill, which now will move to the Senate for review, the Secret Service could cover additional overtime this year.

“As we enjoy this holiday season, I can think of no better Christmas gift to the hardworking men and women of the Secret Service than the compensation that is owed to them for their hard work in securing our nation,” Katko urged the House before the vote.